The Covington Drawbridge Company brought a case against Alexander O. Shepherd, Elijah F. Gillan, James Davidson, Samuel McClure Samuel Peters and George Willard in the Supreme Court of the United States. The company argued that they had been wrongfully charged for damages to their bridge by the defendants who were responsible for constructing a road over it without permission from Congress or any other authority. They claimed that this was an illegal act as only Congress has power to authorize such construction projects on navigable waters and thus sought compensation for their losses due to the damage caused by said project. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Covington Drawbridge Company stating that no one can construct anything on navigable waters without authorization from Congress first and thus ordered all five defendants pay restitution for damages done to plaintiff's property as well as legal fees incurred during trial proceedings.

In this case, the Covington Drawbridge Company (plaintiffs) argued that Alexander O. Shepherd and his associates (defendants) had wrongfully taken possession of a bridge they owned over the Potomac River in Washington D.C., without their permission or consent. The Supreme Court found for the defendants, ruling that Congress had authorized them to construct a new bridge at the same location as part of an act to improve public highways in Washington D.C.. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Curtis argued that while Congress did have authority to pass laws concerning roads within its jurisdiction, it could not authorize individuals such as Shepherd and his associates to take private property without just compensation from those who already held title rights over it - which was what happened here with respect to Covington's bridge across the Potomac River. He concluded by saying that if Congress wanted these individuals to build a new bridge on this site then they should be required firstly pay fair market value for any existing structures there before proceeding with construction work on their own project